Andy Murray Gives Hilarious Quip About Coaching Novak Djokovic at Australian Open

Murray, who retired in August, jokingly blames Djokovic as the main reason he never captured an Australian Open title.

Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic talk to media during a practice session ahead of the Australian Open. / Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Andy Murray will make his coaching debut for Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, which starts this weekend.

This coaching situation is ironic for the two former rivals since Djokovic beat Murray in four Australian Open finals during their careers. Murray never captured a title at the first major of the year before he retired at the 2024 Paris Olympics, and that is mostly due to Djokovic.

So, Murray couldn't help but offer a hilarious quip on Thursday during a practice session about why he took the coaching job in the first place—to sabotage Djokovic.

"Could never quite go over the line, unfortunately this man was single handedly responsible for that, so I'm now here to sabotage his chances of winning another one," Murray said, sparking some laughter from the audience.

"I'm now here to sabotage his chances of winning another one" 😅

Andy Murray on coaching Novak Djokovic after losing four #AusOpen finals against him 🏆 pic.twitter.com/hxCLxwdOtW

— Eurosport (@eurosport) January 9, 2025

The Australian Open is where Djokovic has had the most success in his career, winning 10 of his 24 major titles there. Djokovic finished in the semifinals last year after dropping to the eventual champion Jannik Sinner. The 2024 season marked the first year since 2017 in which Djokovic didn't win a major title, so he's likely coming into this season with a lot of motivation to put himself back in the winning category.

All eyes will be on Murray to see how he coaches Djokovic in Melbourne over the next couple weeks. Djokovic will face American Nishesh Basavareddy in the first round this weekend.

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